What songs from foreign languages are most successful among English speakers?

I thought of a few examples, but want some more. Don't count songs with nonsense lyrics or instrumentals without lyrics. Don't count bilingual songs (unless neither of them is English, or if the English portions are commonly omitted). Don't count songs primarily popular among immigrant populations or others fluent in that language.

Basically, songs an American monoglot could sing along with, but couldn't translate.

46 points · 36 comments · view on lemmy.world

36 Comments

grannyweatherwax@feddit.nl · 52 pts · 3y

Gangnam style ? Non, je ne regrette rein ?

AngryHippy@slrpnk.net · 49 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Rock Me Amadeus - Falco

La Bamba - Los Lobos

Macarena - Los Del Rio

Despacito - Luis Fonsi / Daddy Yankee

99 Luftballons - Nena

Sadeness, part 1 - Enigma

Volaré - Domenico Modungo

WhoresonWells@lemmy.basedcount.com · 13 pts · 3y (2 replies)

La Bamba and 99 Luftballons were on my list, others should have been.

Screwthehole@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Du hast

Jagger2097@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 3y

Du hast nicht

Venat0r@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Du hast - Rammstein

Gold - Sigur Rós

sharkfucker420@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 3y

Du hast was also my first thought

knaak@lemmy.world · 26 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Oye Como Va by Santana.

Anti_Weeb_Penguin@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

Now that's great music taste!

teft@startrek.website · 1 pts · 3y

Mi ritmo!

Xariphon@kbin.social · 24 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Dragostea din tei

teft@startrek.website · 8 pts · 3y

For those who don’t recognize the title it’s also known as the Numa Numa song.

radix@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 3y

Dragostea Din Tei for sure. Such a fundamental part of my fourth grade experience, only rediscovered almost a decade later during Zoom school.

prashanthvsdvn@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Tunak Tunak Tun

teft@startrek.website · 3 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Gotta represent with my man Daler Mehndi.

Xariphon@kbin.social · 3 pts · 3y

Isn't he in jail now?

Selkie210@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Yuve Yuve Yu by Mongolian band The Hu

WhoresonWells@lemmy.basedcount.com · 2 pts · 3y

I wasn't expecting a Mongolian answer to show up here, so this is great.

teft@startrek.website · 2 pts · 3y

The Hu

Anyone who has played Jedi: Fallen Order or Jedi: Survivor will recognize The Hu from the intro song in Fallen Order. In Survivor they have 3 songs on the jukebox as the band The Agasar (one of which is Sugaan Essena, the song from Fallen Order).

ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 3y

Caramelldansen

ettyblatant@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi

skullvalanche@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

Ha! Came here to say this. Ya beat me to it.

tegs_terry@feddit.uk · 8 pts · 3y

Èdith Piaf stuff paably

IntergalacticZombie@feddit.uk · 6 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Does Auld Lang Syne count?

WhoresonWells@lemmy.basedcount.com · 2 pts · 3y

I think so. Some Scottish words are co-intelligible with English, but the song as a whole isn't.

CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 3y

Schnappi, das kleine krokodil was quite popular in Australia in the early 00's.

charonn0@startrek.website · 5 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Prisencolinensinainciusol makes me laugh.

CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

I mean it was a song by an Italian that at the time didn't speak English trying to make a song that to Italians would sound like it was in english.

DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone · 5 pts · 3y
  • O Fortuna by Carl Orff. Actually, the entire Carmina Burana has some real bangers
  • Lots of stuff by Enya
bernieecclestoned@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 3y

This is very recent, but the production slaps

Coco - Elena Rose

Boris_NotTooBadinoff@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y
PlatonicaWhore@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

DESPACITO.

EbenezerScrew@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

90s kid so Mocedades - Eres Tú will always have a sweet spot in my heart!

Wolfiexo@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

IN-GRID - Tu Es Foutu and also by her In Tango Alizée - J'en ai marre or J'ai pas vingt ans or Moi Lolita

Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Ue o Muite Arukou - Kyu Sakamoto

tetris11@kbin.social · 1 pts · 3y

whistles a melancholic tune

GolGolarion@pathfinder.social · 1 pts · 3y
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